Pictures of standing Gods

[ruby_soma]

A friend who came to my house told me that one should not keep pictures or idols of standing Gods in the house.
In my pooja room I have a picture of standing Murugan ,a picture of Tirupathi Vengadasalapathi and a idol of standing Ganesha. Could someone enlighten me on this. Thanks. ruby.

[crazy]

My grandpa ( or my uncle) used to say that Kannan with flute should not keep in house............. donno why :roll:

[dev]

I guess most Murugan pics & venkatachalapathi come in standing posi... I too have it in my pooja place... I don't think there's anything wrong abt it...

Anyways, it all depends on ones personal belief... if what ur friend said is bothering U, better replace it...

[ruby_soma]

Thanks crazy and dev. It is not bothering me. Just to know if it's true. If it is true than I have to think about it. Anyway your reply gave me a lot of comfort. thanks again.

[Braandan]

Nothing wrong in such pictures. Somebody also told me that Lord Krishna with a blowing flute means that all your riches would be blown away (I was'nt worried 'cause I had no riches) but riches only increased after I kept it on my altar. (why don't you think that He is bringing melody in your life). Muruga and Venkatachalapathy always comes in standing pose only. Try not to keep 'Siva Linga' at home, because I had some bitter experience as I had one at home when I was in Delhi. (Instead you can go for a picture of Nataraja or Ardhanareeswara or Siva&Parvathi). Most astrologers say it is better to have 2 dimensional pictures instead of 3d idols at home altars.

[Alan]

What's wrong with Shiva linga kept at home?

I've been told that idols should not be kept in poojaroom because they acquire some kind of 'strength' and if you miss the pooja even for a day ( if you are not at home for a few days or something), its really bad. So, I've kept all my idols in the show case in the living room.

[crazy]

Nothing wrong in such pictures. Somebody also told me that Lord Krishna with a blowing flute means that all your riches would be blown away

My uncle used the say that.................and we never had a Krishna with flute.

[Braandan]

What's wrong with Shiva linga kept at home?

I've been told that idols should not be kept in poojaroom because they acquire some kind of 'strength' and if you miss the pooja even for a day ( if you are not at home for a few days or something), its really bad. So, I've kept all my idols in the show case in the living room.

For the same reason which you have said. SivaLinga is an idol. Also SivaLingam is originally meant to be in 'Smasaanam' (cremation/burial ground), all Siva temples are supposed to be cremation grounds or nearby/attached to them. Same reason why it is said one must sit for sometime at SivaTemples after dharshan before returning home, so that even the soil stuck to your feet is not taken home.

[Raghu]

What's wrong with Shiva linga kept at home?

I've been told that idols should not be kept in poojaroom because they acquire some kind of 'strength' and if you miss the pooja even for a day ( if you are not at home for a few days or something), its really bad. So, I've kept all my idols in the show case in the living room.

For the same reason which you have said. SivaLinga is an idol. Also SivaLingam is originally meant to be in 'Smasaanam' (cremation/burial ground), all Siva temples are supposed to be cremation grounds or nearby/attached to them. Same reason why it is said one must sit for sometime at SivaTemples after dharshan before returning home, so that even the soil stuck to your feet is not taken home. :shock: :shock:

I have never seen a Shivalingam in any one's house, :cry: :cry:

[Alan]

What? All Shiva Temples are supposed to be cremation grounds? That's news to me- I thought it was the Lord Shiva's privatepart that we are worshipping because the 16 yr old Markandeya got hold of it whem Yama came to take him? Is that the connection with the burial ground, because Yama is the God of death?

[Braandan]

The word 'lingam' in sanskrit simply means just 'symbol'. Nothing to do with any private part. Some westerners have made up this story that Sivalingam is Siva's private part!
(Please read the book 'The art of God symbolisation' by Swami Chinmayananda).

Siva is the Lord of Yama himself and the 'Annihilator' among the Trinity of Hinduism. He always live in cremation grounds, covering himself with ashes (that is why Hindus wear the 'bhasma' or ashes on their foreheads). A good example is 'Kashi' or Varanasi which is nothing but a huge cremation ground!

[ruby_soma]

Thanks Braandan, your explanations are very simple and nice. Here in Malaysia we have a Sivan temple in Sentul, facing a Hindu crematorium.

[Raghu]

The word 'lingam' in sanskrit simply means just 'symbol'. Nothing to do with any private part. Some westerners have made up this story that Sivalingam is Siva's private part!
(Please read the book 'The art of God symbolisation' by Swami Chinmayananda).

Siva is the Lord of Yama himself and the 'Annihilator' among the Trinity of Hinduism. He always live in cremation grounds, covering himself with ashes (that is why Hindus wear the 'bhasma' or ashes on their foreheads). A good example is 'Kashi' or Varanasi which is nothing but a huge cremation ground!

Indeed, Vibuthi is a remainder to us mundane humans, this perishable body is nothing but dust(ash), meaning , v all will turn into ash / dust one day!

[nms]

What's wrong with Shiva linga kept at home?

I've been told that idols should not be kept in poojaroom because they acquire some kind of 'strength' and if you miss the pooja even for a day ( if you are not at home for a few days or something), its really bad. So, I've kept all my idols in the show case in the living room.

For the same reason which you have said. SivaLinga is an idol. Also SivaLingam is originally meant to be in 'Smasaanam' (cremation/burial ground), all Siva temples are supposed to be cremation grounds or nearby/attached to them. Same reason why it is said one must sit for sometime at SivaTemples after dharshan before returning home, so that even the soil stuck to your feet is not taken home.

NEW news to me.I was taught that - Being insisted to sit a while in a temple after worshipping the deity, is only to meditate the figure of the deity.Also the large Mandapams were being used for mediation only.

[Erica]

Yeah i too believe that Shiva Linga should not be kept at home since i too have come across some bitter exp. but, my inlaws have a small idol of Shiva in their pooja room. My Fil told me they are having it for the past 20 yrs or so :idontgetit:

[mokshani]

Hi guys! I also heard from my neighbour in india that u cannot keep standing god idols because they will not stay in your house. But as we all agree on that we wont get murugan and vekatachalapathy's idol sitting ;). Even for Lakshmi idol, people say that u shld have the one who is sitting instead of standing as it symbolises that lakshmi will be sitting in your home all the time. But my opinion: god is everywhere, it doesnt matter whether u have them sit or stand as long as you pray to god with good intension :). What do u guys think? Anybody agree with me???? :huh:

[Badri]

I agree with you absolutely, Mokshani

If your God cannot even stand in one place for you, what is the point of worshipping Him or Her?

All this is just foolish supersition!

[madhu]

sitting.. standing.. reclining.. whats the difference ?

thats why 108 vaishvanite shrines are having Lord Vishnu in all different poses..

its all for us.. as per our wish..

really GOD is nirguNa brahmam..

its all in our mind only..

[dinesh2002]

hmmm....im my pooja place.... i have a Lord Shiva picture frame,a Lord Shiva statue that has Him sitting in the Yoga style with his eyes open, and 1 Shiva Lingam i made my self out of paper clay... is it wrong people??? and yea...im having a bad time in my life now...but i wouldnt blame it on the Shiva Lingam.... do enlighten me !!

[Hulkster]

Not exactly...the undeniable truth is that god lives in every particle of his creation...praying to him as idols wunt make any difference by a simple mental prayer. Usually whatever bad or good happens in ur life are the outcome of decisions that are made by you yourself..so you have to analyse your previous decisions to see what can be the solution. :D

[mokshani]

sitting.. standing.. reclining.. whats the difference ?

thats why 108 vaishvanite shrines are having Lord Vishnu in all different poses..

its all for us.. as per our wish..

really GOD is nirguNa brahmam..

its all in our mind only..
True!:exactly: its all in our mind. We created all these pictures and idols for ourselves, so we can have something before us to pray.

[mokshani]

hmmm....im my pooja place.... i have a Lord Shiva picture frame,a Lord Shiva statue that has Him sitting in the Yoga style with his eyes open, and 1 Shiva Lingam i made my self out of paper clay... is it wrong people??? and yea...im having a bad time in my life now...but i wouldnt blame it on the Shiva Lingam.... do enlighten me !!
See you are saying it yourself "
yea...im having a bad time in my life now...but i wouldnt blame it on the Shiva Lingam.... ". It has nothing to do with anything. Have confidence and trust in god, everything will be fine :).

[nilavupriyan]

why u go deep into superstitions!....

pray thats it!

[dinesh2002]

yea.... i was just asking... its good to ask & learn than just beein ignorant rite ??? ;)

[dinesh2002]

Not exactly...the undeniable truth is that god lives in every particle of his creation...praying to him as idols wunt make any difference by a simple mental prayer. Usually whatever bad or good happens in ur life are the outcome of decisions that are made by you yourself..so you have to analyse your previous decisions to see what can be the solution. :D

yup...had that in mind b4 i came accross this thread :lol:

[unnigopal]

:D That 'Lord Krishna with a blowing flute means that all your riches would be blown away' is
a false propaganda transmitted by agents
of semetic religions in and out of the country with the intention of marring the spirituality, culture and tradition of Bharat(India). There
is no remedy for their onslaught as they are
being backed by power-grubbing politicians.
The only solution is to remain dumb to these
utterances and stick only to the teachings of
great saints and scriptures. Majority of the
people remain ignorant because this knowledge is still under cold storage. Each one should have the burning desire to acquire this great knowledge of the Rishis.
:lol:
unnigopal

[Alan]

The word 'lingam' in sanskrit simply means just 'symbol'. Nothing to do with any private part. Some westerners have made up this story that Sivalingam is Siva's private part!
(Please read the book 'The art of God symbolisation' by Swami Chinmayananda).

Siva is the Lord of Yama himself and the 'Annihilator' among the Trinity of Hinduism. He always live in cremation grounds, covering himself with ashes (that is why Hindus wear the 'bhasma' or ashes on their foreheads). A good example is 'Kashi' or Varanasi which is nothing but a huge cremation ground!

Very interesting, Brandan. Thanks for the info. How could I be such an ignorant Indian?

[mokshani]

:D That 'Lord Krishna with a blowing flute means that all your riches would be blown away' is
a false propaganda transmitted by agents
of semetic religions in and out of the country with the intention of marring the spirituality, culture and tradition of Bharat(India). There
is no remedy for their onslaught as they are
being backed by power-grubbing politicians.
The only solution is to remain dumb to these
utterances and stick only to the teachings of
great saints and scriptures. Majority of the
people remain ignorant because this knowledge is still under cold storage. Each one should have the burning desire to acquire this great knowledge of the Rishis.
:lol:

oh yeah??? i didnt know, thats funny having krishna with flute blown away riches, its similar to the example that i gave about lakshmi sitting, keeps ur treasure home where as the treasure will go away if she is standing.. :) . Anyway nice to hear from u unnigopal... keep posting.










unnigopal

[Braandan]

Here are notes sent to my email address from some other person whose account is yet to be opened in forumhub.
Sorry, I read his mail late, and hence the late posting:

1. Siva Lingam - Means Lord Shiva's symbol and not any other meaning. This translation is as good as people writing "Stuck 2 Guns" which I read in some other article, the author actually wanted to say Stuck TO Guns but the way it was interpreted was Stuck TWO Guns. Similarly who ever has said Lingam is for private parts, please ask them not to split the word and read instead it is Siva Lingam and not just lingam. Then what does Anga Rakshak mean (in English Body Gaurd) but does it mean protector of only the private parts?? Angam means private parts also, so can we read it like that?

2. It is not that Lord Siva temple has to be in a burial ground. The explanation is Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the transporter, while Siva is the destructor. Siva is the entire supremo of destruction of life (according to Hinduism) and hence Yama is his subordinate to carry out the operations - thats how Markandeya's story or Manjunatha's story (Dharmasthala Manunatha name has come after a devotee named Manjunatha) has come into picture. In Varanasi, from ages people have been going to Kasi during their last days because it was the belief that Siva would blow the Ramanamam and Siva Panchakshari in their ears before life is taken out of the body and hence people used to go to die in Varanasi. Hence where Lord Siva is people have got bodies burnt around. Unfortunately the notion turned the other way around.
Vibhuthi is ash yes but it also means wealth.. "Vibhuthirbhoothir aiswaryam..." thats how it goes.

3. If you have heard of Mrutyunjaya mantram - whom does that refer to; isnt it Lord Siva? "Triyambakam yejamahe sugandhim pushti vardhanam ... mama mrutyur nasya aayur vardhataam". People performing pooja in burial grounds are actually doing Khsudra pooja and not Siva pooja.

4. Apprehensions about Lord Krishna blowing away wealth is wrong, he blows away the fears and hurdles. Listen to Vishnu sahasranama taatparyam "Anirudha suranando govindo govidaam pathihi.." and "yesya smarana maatrena janma samsara bandhanaath vimuchyathe...naarayana sabda maatram.. vimukhta dukha sukhino bhavanthu". Listening and chanting to Narayana's name is itself a protector from all fears, then having an idol of Krishna who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu will not blow away the wealth of his devotees.

[Alan]

Very interesting & informative, Braandan. Thanks!

Ok another thing- I have always wondered why there is no temple of Brahma, the Creator of the Universe, anywhere in India!!!! Out of the trinity, you have Vishnu & Shiva temples & devotees (Brahmins)are even divided into 2 sects- Vaishnavaites & Shivites.

Why is Brahma ignored then?

[Braandan]

somebody told me that there is a Brahma temple near Ajmer (Pushkar?) in Rajasthan.. have to make sure though..

[podalangai]

Yes, there is a famous Brahma temple in Pushkar. There is also a smaller less famous one in Carambolim in Goa. Some Siva and Vishnu temples in Tamil Nadu have separate shrines for Brahma. There are also some trimurti temples in Tamil Nadu which have separate Brahma shrines. In some of these, the tradition is that no pujai is done to Brahma.

I was told that some tharavads in Kerala have family temples where Brahma is worshipped as the main deity, but I don't know anything more about this.

[NOV]

I have always wondered why there is no temple of Brahma, the Creator of the Universe, anywhere in India!!!! There are several explanations for this.

You must remember that unlike Vishnu and Siva, Brahma is not permanent and a new Brahma gets recreated every yuga. His job is "creation" and once that's done, he rests and thus no worship is made on him.

Also there are several other puranas on Brahma no-worship. Let me share one here.

One day Brahma became arrogant and claimed that he was the first and the most superior of the trinity and being the creator, he should be worshipped first. Vishnu and Siva wanted to teach him a lesson on humility and called for a competition.

The challenge was for either Brahma or Vishnu to see the top of Siva's head and whoever who sees it will be regarded the greatest among the three.

Accordingly, Siva grew bigger and bigger. Brahma ascended to see Siva's head but Siva kept on growing. This went on for many years. Eventually Brahma met a flower which was descending from Siva's head and conspired with the flower to lie that Brahma had indeed seen Siva's head. Naturally, Brahma's lie was exposed and then condemned to no worship in the three worlds.

What happened to Vishnu?
Well, he took on an avathar as a wild boar and dug at Siva's feet. Siva, irritated by the itch, bowed down to see the cause. Thus enabling Vishnu to see Siva's head! :D
The lesson here is of course that one can attain greatness by being humble.

And talking about Brahma temples, there are dozens..... in Bali.
http://www.bali-indonesia.com/attractions/temples.htm
http://www.baliclick.com/Bali_Place_of_interest/PlaceList.asp?SubCatID=48